Author's Note: Aaah. Sorry for being so slow on these updates. I'm really trying to get back into the swing of writing and with work, cosplays and getting ready for school, I lose track of the time! I'll try to b better from now on!

Thank you for all of your reviews and favorites!

"Hey… Hey! Wake up!"

In the depths of my clouded mind a voice aggravated my senses, pulling me out of unconsciousness.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, anyway?"

An angry voice at that…

"W-what?" I shivered, feeling the regular aches of my body as I pulled myself upright.

"You can't fucking sleep here. Get up."

My vision came halfway into focus before I recognized the two blurry figures before me. An irritated groan emitted from the back of my throat as I shot them each a cold glare.

"Fuck… sorry…" I attempted to stand, slumping back over from the dead weight of my overexerted form.

"Damn. How much have you had to drink?" a new voice entered, and the man with dreadlocks grabbed me by the upper arm, pulling me up from the pavement.

My joints cracked and my bones popped as I attempted to hold myself upright.

"Tch…" I always hated that question.

"Too much," the angrier voice of the blond answered for me, "Look at him, Tom. He was wasted before we even got to the bar! Shouldn't we take him in?"

"You know we can't do that," the man addressed as 'Tom' let out a heavy sigh, "He hasn't actually done anything wrong."

"You mean passing out on a public sidewalk is legal? I don't think so."

"You know as well as I do that it isn't something we can book him for, Shizuo."

"But it's a public disturbance."

"Oh really?" I chimed in, realizing that I had definitely heard this guy's name somewhere before. Had I been sober, I'm sure it would have clicked already. "Just who am I disturbing?"

"Me!"

"Oh, isn't that cute?" I chuckled, finding my balance as well as an empty liquor bottle. "My apologies, officer! Now if you'll excuse me…"

I attempted to slip away once again, only to find myself slammed against the nearest vending machine.

"Not quite yet," Tom shook his head, giving me an apologetic look for his partner's less-than-gentle actions. "We do have a few questions for you."

"I may have answers," I said, gritting my teeth and glaring at the blond barbarian. "If you'll tell this caveman to let me go."

"Shizuo…" the cop warned.

"I don't trust him not to run," he growled.

"Perhaps I wouldn't feel like running if you weren't manhandling me," I hissed back.

"He won't run," insisted Tom, "If he does, then you can beat him up."

Probably getting his hopes up over what he had just been told by his partner, Officer Heiwajima released me. However, his untrusting gaze held mine; rage swirling within irises the color of aged tequila.

"Inquire away," I insisted, keeping my eyes narrowed.

"What's your relationship with those men back there?" he wasted no time asking.

"I've never seen them before in my life."

"So they aren't friends or enemies of yours?" this Tom was a very thorough person, I could tell.

"Negative. However, given the situation, I suppose I could consider them enemies now, ne?"

"Understandable."

"And what are you doing in this end of 'Bukuro?" Shizuo asked in a tone that said I surely did not belong here.

"Take that one up with my ex," I sneered, "I don't know what the fuck is going on, but I don't appreciate being treated like a criminal."

Regardless of having spent a few nights in a jail cell, and receiving a DUI six months before finding myself in this highly questionable situation, I knew I didn't deserve to take more shit – more judgment. I was sick of it. These societal attitudes that could lead a man to drink had clearly done exactly that, and these ignorant people had no idea just want they were stirring up within.

It hurt.

But nobody gave a shit.

"Well, I suppose that settles it then," the cop, Tom, had easily accepted that there was nothing linking me to this neighborhood's troubles, or the idiots that inhabited it. "Thank you."

"For what?" curiosity got the best of me, rather than leaving it at that and walking away. "Letting this ape throw me around like a ragdoll?"

"Screw you," the blond in question spat, clenching his fists at his side.

"Chill out, Shizuo," Tom warned, turning his attention back to me, "You can go home. We don't need anything more from you."

"Whatever," I shrugged, shoving past the blond as I made my way down the sidewalk. Nearly losing balance every few feet, it was decided that I needed to find a decent place to sleep, and soon.

"Well, he was a little strange," Tom commented barely in earshot.

When the conversation continued to reach my ears, I attempted to determine whether or not they were following me, realizing that we were all going in the same direction.

"More like an obnoxious, little flea," his partner grunted, giving me another chill of recognition.

If I'd had a clearer head, I know I could have placed it…

"He's drunk, Shizuo. Leave him alone. You know? Just let it be?"

"Can't. Don't trust him."

"So what do you want to do?" I continued to eavesdrop, I agreed with the bespectacled officer while simultaneously putting distance between us.

The longer they followed, the worse it would look on me. For a moment, I considered turning into a nearby apartment building until the blond's mouth shot off again.

"I wanna fucking follow him and make sure he's not up to some shady shit!"

If he was attempting to be discrete, he was failing terribly. Unable to fool a drunk, there was no way he'd be fooling anybody. The brute was too blunt and too stupid to know otherwise. That much had been made obvious by his loud, unabashed attitude. I wondered if he was the type who always used a first impression to decide how he felt about a person. If so, it seemed to me that I was surrounded by precisely his kind.

"You think he is?"

"I fucking know he is!"

The man with dreadlocks chuckled lightly, probably feeling pretty relaxed thanks to the beer he had at the bar. "How can you tell?"

"He reeks of evil."

"He's drunk."

"Same difference."

Did this guy have some sort of grudge against alcohol? Fucking tightass. He probably needed to get laid.

Quickly becoming irritated by the ongoing conversation, so casual and stupid that it made a mockery of my very existence, I stopped in my path, turning to face the officers with a threatening glare. I didn't care who they were. Their legal authority held no power over me.

"Most of us learn as small children that it's rude to talk behind another person's back, ne?" I hissed, stuffing my hand in my pocket, and running my fingers over the blade tucked securely within. As if the cheap piece of metal would really provide me with much defense. My good knife had been left behind when I was kicked out of my own apartment.

With no intention of pulling it out on them, it was nothing but an idealistic source of comfort for me – the feeling of protection just knowing it was available when I felt threatened. I knew they were well protected and, truthfully, I envied it.

Tom let out an apologetic sigh. "Sorry, Shizuo doesn't mean it. He's just struggling with… anger issues."

"The hell I don't mean it," the blond barked stepping toward me.

I would have smirked at yet another of his advances when a wave of dizziness crashed over me, spinning my head round and round. Closing my eyes, I willed away the nausea which quickly followed, steadying myself against a nearby lamppost.

"Flattered, officer…" I breathed, still fighting the sickness bubbling in my stomach, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were flirting with me!"

"Shitty louse," he snarled.

"Sir," Tom moved to separate us as I used a grin to egg the idiot on, "I think it's best for you, and your health, if you just go home."

Opening my mouth to speak, I was interrupted by a painful cramping twisting my stomach. Pain too sharp to allow me to make a sound, I crumpled to my knees on the sidewalk. It felt like the vice grip of death itself squeezing my internal organs in its claws.